Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described a Supreme Court decision Tuesday to freeze the firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar as "puzzling," while Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi called for rejecting the ruling outright.
The court, Israel's highest judicial body, issued a temporary order after an 11-hour session reviewing opposition petitions against Bar's ouster.
It barred the government from executing the dismissal, naming a replacement or issuing orders to officials under Bar's authority until the case is resolved.
The court gave the government and its legal adviser Gali Baharav-Miara until April 19—Passover's end—to reach a consensus, or it would rule definitively.
Netanyahu criticized the decision, saying "judges repeatedly affirmed during the hearing that the government's authority to dismiss the Shin Bet head is indisputable."
"So the court's choice to delay his term's end by 10 days is puzzling," he added, according to a statement by his office reported by The Times of Israel newspaper.
He argued that the judges focused on procedural issues, including a claim that the government should have granted Bar a hearing before a committee which advises on senior appointments, a stance backed by Baharav-Miara.
"Yet nine months ago, when National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir sought to transfer the police commissioner early, the legal adviser raised no such requirement," Netanyahu said.
He accused her of blocking Bar's removal "by a desire," citing an ongoing Shin Bet probe unrelated to Cabinet ministers.
"It is unthinkable that the Israeli government would be prevented from removing a failed Shin Bet head from office simply because an investigation has been opened that is not related to any of the government ministers," he argued.
He will continue interviewing candidates to replace Bar, the statement added.
The probe, dubbed "Qatargate" by the media, is investigating whether Netanyahu aides Jonatan Urich and Eli Feldstein took funds from a US PR firm tied to a Qatari government contract to promote Doha's interests from the prime minister's office.
Qatar denied the allegations as "baseless," while Netanyahu called it a political witch hunt to topple his right-wing government and shield Bar.
Karhi, via X, branded the court's order "illegal" and urged noncompliance, saying it lacks authority.
Ben-Gvir, meanwhile, decried "the ongoing erosion of an elected democracy's powers by an unaccountable body (the Supreme Court) lacking checks and balances," according to the Yedioth Ahronoth daily.
He insisted that "judicial reform is the only way forward," referencing controversial proposals the opposition says aim to control the judiciary, while the government claims they balance the legislative, judicial and executive branches.
The court faces three paths: reject the opposition's petitions and allow Bar's dismissal, uphold them and block it, or broker a timeline for his exit.
Netanyahu justified seeking Bar's removal over a "lack of trust," but the opposition argues his metric is personal loyalty.
In March, the Israeli government withdrew confidence from Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in another move against the judiciary by Netanyahu and his ruling coalition.
Last week, Netanyahu announced the appointment of former Navy Commander Eli Sharvit as the new Shin Bet chief but later retracted the decision amid criticism within his government following revelations that Sharvit had participated in protests against the government in early 2023.
Bar's dismissal came as Israel continued its deadly onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where more than 50,800 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
